how to avoid anxiety googling symptoms and constant thinking/panicking over it?
(may be a long post) as the title states. whenever i tend to have some sort of health scare (for example atm, a cavity that's been hurting a bit and making my tooth feel sensitive/weak, but im unable to visit the dentist until next month due to insurance being weird, and am worried due to being overdue for my annual cleaning by 3 months), i tend to constantly google and read up on various things regarding possibilities and such. typically, i'd see the worst outcomes and would get really anxious thinking that it'll be the outcome once i go to the doctor or dentist regarding it, especially if it is something tooth-related (i have a couple of missing teeth and get anxiety over losing more and also spending a lotta money on it).
in the case of my cavity, i’ve been panicking searching through google, seeing all these bad results and all urging me to go asap and to not wait it out, which makes it even worst. i did look through and asked around in a dental anxiety forum, and a retired dentist along with a couple others had reassured me that the decay can’t get anymore bad within a month or two. but im still so scared to have to deal with this for the rest of the month and am still worried about it somehow getting worse and would end up googling again, making me feel even worse ): in my case, the pain is manageable and im still able to sleep at night, at the cavity hole/line is a light brown color.
idk how to refrain myself from constantly going on an anxiety-induced research rampage like this, especially once those same symptoms start to kick up. anyone has any suggestions?
Posted Feb 16, 2026, 8:34 PM UTC